Combination loading roll-up and display apparatus for carpets



EDSON March 7, 1970 COMBINATION LOADING ROLL-UP AND DISPLAY APPARATUS FOR CARPETS Filed Nov. 19, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I.

INVENTQR SYDNEY Eoso S. EDSON March .17, 1970 COMBINATION LOADING ROLL-UP AND DISPLAY APPARATUS FOR CARPETS Filed Nov. 19, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mu" IHI" INVENTOR SYDNEY EDSON United States Patent York Filed Nov. 19, 1968, Ser. No. 777,124 Int. Cl. B65h 17/46 US. Cl. 242-8652 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The apparatus possesses a rack having a stationary lower framework and stationary upper framework. Between these frameworks extends a rocker bar assembly to load rolls of sheet material on the rack.

Background of the invention Heretofore it was common to unload at one station from a truck onto a dolly one or more dolls of carpeting or like piece goods and then to hoist at another station such roll or rolls successively for location on a stationary or displaceable frame for display and similar purposes. Such handling of rolled material necessitates usually the employment of several operators and requires dexterity and complicated manipulation steps to achieve proper and convenient display and examination by prospective purchasers of the surface of the material, as well as the backing thereof. Other known apparatus for storing and displaying large and heavy rolls of carpeting and other material in the piece have shown considerable disadvantages inherent in the construction of such apparatus, which contributed to uneconomical and complex operational performance, so that these known devices were objected to in practice and encountered great disfavor.

The present invention overcomes these and other inconveniences and drawbacks and deals with marked improvements of constructional features of apparatus of the hereinabove mentioned type.

The invention is directed more specifically to a display and support structure for carpet rolls and like weighty rolled up piece goods, which structure is associated with a swingable traverse or swivel-styled beam assembly equipped to lift and support one or more rolls of pliable material, which may be transferred onto any desired number of mandrels or arbors forming components of said support structure.

This novel apparatus is very compact and sturdy, takes up relatively little space and can be readily operated by one person only without any undue effort and substantially without the employment of any tools or implements.

Summary of the invention The present invention refers to a combination loading and supporting system for storing and displaying carpet and similar textile, plastic and like sheet material in cylinder or roll formation.

It is one of the main objects of the invention to provide means ensuring a highly efiicacious and economical apparatus construction for handling and displaying carpet and similar lengthy materials in a greatly simplified manner.

It is another object of the invention to provide means contributing to a speedily and easily operable mechanism for supporting, lifting, transferring, distributing and displaying front or back of one or more rolls of carpeting or like by an operator on a single support unit.

Still a further object of the invention resides in the provision of means resulting in a sturdy and compact instru- 'ice mentality, which is composed of relatively few parts for achieving a plurality of operational and procedural steps for loading, feeding and displaying carpet and like sheet material of infinite length.

The invention further contemplates the provision of means conducive to a very efficacious display apparatus which takes up relatively small space, may be readily moved on a floor from place to place even if fully loaded, can be effectively manipulated by one person and may be safely and accurately operated for loading, lifting and rolling lengthy piece goods and further for transferring same from one mandrel to another for any suitable purposes.

It is still another important object of the invention to provide means envisioning the avoidance of any auxiliary dolly or other extraneous means for shifting or transposing lengthy piece goods in roll formation onto a multiple support unit or framework, which possesses a builtin loading and lifting mechanism, as well as a drive therefor and is associated with cross-beams which simultaneously serve to reinforce and strengthen the framework, as well as to function as spindles or mandrels with gripping means or clips for receiving and retaining the free end edge of a roll of fiat material, which is to be transferred, distributed and displayed on said multiple support unit.

In accordance with the invention there is provided a loading and display system for carpet material and like lengthy sheet material in roll formation with an axle passed through same; characterized by a rack forming a support for said roll of material, which rack is provided with a stationary framework and with rocker means linked to said framework for support thereon and for movement relative thereto, and operable means connected to said framework and operatively joined to said rocker means, whereby upon actuation of said operable means said rocker means is displaceable to a position at which said axle of said roll is engageable with said rocker means to load the latter.

The system permits further to transfer and feed said material from the roll on said rocker means to a portion of said framework for display on said rack.

The portion of said framework is preferably in the form of at least one mandrel, which props the framework.

The aforesaid and other objects and advantages of the invention ensue from the following detailed description, which has reference to the attached drawings, the latter being exemplary and explanatory of the principles of the invention and being in no way restrictive thereof.

Brief description of the drawings The invention is diagrammatically represented by way of example in the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the rack or apparatus for holding several rolls of carpeting pursuant to the invention (some of the parts being broken away).

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 with the displaceable rocker frame seen in a lowermost position.

FIG. 3 is an elevational view similar to that of FIG. 2 with the rocker frame in a different (intermediate) position.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of the rocker frame with its pivotal arrangement and its connection with the drive unit.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary and perspective view of the drive unit, the rocker frame, and of the lower stationary frame of the apparatus, as seen toward the inside of one lateral end of the same.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view similar to that of FIG. with the rocker frame in an inclined and lowered position.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view (partly in perspective) of the lower frame, of the upper frame (partly illustrated) and of the rocker means, as seen toward the inside of one lateral end of the apparatus.

Detailed description Referring now more specifically to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 an apparatus or rack 10 for loading, transferring and displaying lengthy sheet material 12, preferably carpeting material, shown in the form of a roll 11.

Apparatus 10 principally comprises a stationary lower framework 13, a stationary upper framework 14, a connector piece 17 fixed to and extending between said frameworks, a seesaw or rocker bar assembly and a fulcrum or pivot post 16 carried by said connector piece 17, about which a rocker bar assembly 15 may be displaced or swung from one extreme station A to another extreme station B (FIG. 2), as later referred to.

Rocker bar assembly 15 includes cross-beams 15a, 15b for reinforcing same (FIG. 7). The lower stationary framework 13 is likewise braced and reinforced by crossbeams 13a, 13b. A drive unit or jack means is attached by means of clamp 18 to cross-beam 13b and thence extends beyond and above rocker means 15, as shown. To the cross-beam 15b there is linked (FIGS. 5 and 6) at hinged clamp 19 the upper displaceable housing part 21, which, upon suitable actuation of the stationary screwthreaded spindle 23 by means of the handle 25, may be moved relative to the lower stationary housing part 22, which parts engage each other telescopically. The upward or downward displacement of housing part 21 depends on the rotational direction of said handle 25. As a consequence thereof rocker means 15 may be swung about pivot pin 16 in a predetermined angular direction (see FIGS. 2 and 6) to assume any intermediate positions between positions A and B.

At each lateral end of apparatus 10 there is located the upper framework 14 which comprises inverted Ushaped upright girder frames 26, which are fastened to respective plate coverings 27 by means of screw bolts 28. These two girder frames or supports 26 rotatably carry near their upper ends a pair of mandrels 29, 29a, which together with lower rod members 31, 31a brace and strengthen the assembled girder supports and fullfill also certain other purposes later referred to. Mandrels 29, 29a are each provided with a pair of handwheels 32, 32a located near the outer ends of the forward and rearward mandrels and between opposed girder supports 26. Each mandrel is further equipped with ball bearings (not shown) and with one or two clips 33, by means of which the forward end edge 34 of sheet material 12 may be fastened to and retained on the mandrel as shown in FIG. 1.

Each handwheel 32, 32a may be prevented from rotation by means of swingable finger 32b hinged at 320 to the respective leg of upright girder frame 26.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows:

A roll of sheet material, e.g. a roll of carpeting 11 is moved along floor F from the dotted line position X to the loading station Y, as seen in full lines. The rocker bar assembly 15 is then swung by means of jack or drive unit 20 to its lowermost position at A, as seen in FIG. 2. Axle a passed through the hollow core center of the roll 11 may be a piece of steel tube, the ends of which project beyond the lateral boundaries of the carpet roll 11.

Since the bearing brackets 35a. at the lowermost position A of the rocker means 15 come to lie below the lateral axle ends and register with the latter (as seen in FIG. 2, where only one bearing bracket is visible), rocker means 15 is thereafter caused by means of actuation of drive unit 20 to assume a position, as illustrated 4 in FIG. 3, in which the loaded roll is lifted above floor F and takes up a substantially horizontal location (FIGS. 1 and 3).

If it is desired to transfer the roll of carpet onto the empty mandrel 29 above roll 11 on brackets 35, the forward free end edge 34 of the carpet material is fed for engagement with clips 33 (FIG. 1), so that one of the handwheels 32 of the first upper mandrel 29 may then be rotated by the operators hand in one or the other direction, as the case may be, to feed the carpet material either with its tread surface uppermost or with its backing layer exposed to view on said mandrel 29.

It is quite apparent that the rolled up carpet material may be further delivered onto the adjacent mandrel 29a by bringing into engagement the respective free edge of the carpet roll on mandrel 29 with the respective clips (not shown) of mandrel 29a. Subsequent rotation of one of the handwheels 32a in a manner hereinabove set forth with respect to mandrel 29 may then be had to transfer the material.

The roll of carpet may be thereafter further transferred from mandrel 29a (assuming brackets 35a are unloaded) onto axle 30a now located on hearing brackets 35a in the same manner, the free end edge of the carpet material being suitably retained on such empty axle 30a, which may be thereafter rotated by the hand of the operator to collect the material on said axle.

According to FIG. 1, the free end 36 of the transferred roll of the carpet material distributed on axle 30a may also be draped over rearward rod member 31a as shown, thereby turning the surface of the material to reversed position, say, for the inspection of the backing of carpet material.

Since both legs of the upright girder frame 26 are provided with rod members 31, 31a as depicted in FIG. 1 the free edge 34 of the carpet roll 11 on brackets 35 can be likewise draped over member 31 in any suitable manner, as it is well understood.

Rack 10 may be provided with casters or rollers 38 which permit easy placement of the carpet roll support from one location to another. These casters are preferably fastened to the lower stationary framework 13 in any appropriate manner, as indicated in FIG. 1.

It may be mentioned that the fulcrum or pivot location 16 is preferably arranged off center with respect to the rocker means 15 and plate coverings 27, thereby to provide unequal lengths of movable arms for rocker means 15, in order to simplify loading facilities, as it is self-understood.

Although the drive unit 20 will be generally sufiicient to achieve displacement of the built-in rocker means 15 into desired position, a small push-button controlled reversible motor (not shown) may be employed in larger racks taking up six or more rolls of carpeting or similar flat material of infinite length.

All these and other modifications of the invention are covered by the latter in its broadest aspects and the invention is not considered to be limited to the specific embodiments herein shown and described. Departures may be had without deviating from the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its advantages.

What is claimed is:

1. A loading and display system for carpet material in the form of a roll with an axle passed through same; characterized by a rack forming a support for said roll of material, which rack is provided with a stationary framework and with rocker means linked to said framework for support thereon and for movement relative thereto, and operable means connected to said framework and operatively joined to said rocker means, whereby upon actuation of said operable means said rocker means is displaceable to a position, at which said axle of said roll is engageable with said rocker means to load the latter.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein said material from the roll on said rocker means is transferable to a portion of said framework for display on said rack.

3. A system according to claim 2, wherein said portion of said framework is in the form of at least one mandrel, which props the framework.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein said operable means is a jack device which is anchored on said framework and displaceable with said rocker means relative to said framework via a fulcrum.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein said frame-' work comprises a lower frame and an upwardly extending frame, which is connected to said lower frame and is reinforced by mandrel-shaped members directed in spaced relation to each other across said upwardly extending frame.

6. A system according to claim 5, wherein each of said members is provided with at least one handwheel facilitating rotation of said mandrel members on said upwardly extending frame.

7. A system according to claim 6, wherein each handwheel is engageable with stop means hinged to said upwardly extending frame.

8. A system according to claim 1, wherein said rocker means consist of spaced apart rocker bars each terminating on a bearing bracket located at opposed ends thereof,

the rocker means being linked to said framework via a pivot located off center with respect to said rocker means.

9. A system according to claim 1, wherein said rack is provided with at least one mandrel located on said framework and above said rocker means, said mandrel being provided with means for retaining the free edge of material emanations from the roll of material when loaded on said rocker means, and hand-operated means to rotate said mandrel.

10. A system according to claim 1, wherein lateral plate coverings are provided which conceal at least parts of said stationary framework, as well as parts of said rocker means linked to said framework, said plate coverings reinforcing said rack and interconnecting said lower and upper frames, and caster means on said lower frames for displacing said rack from one location to another location.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,024,253 4/1912 Ford 242-55.3 2,109,379 2/1938 Brown 242--55.3 2,281,137 4/1942 Borevitz 24255.3 3,120,358 2/1964 Ensley 242-58.6 X 3,374,964 3/1968 Carvotta 242-86.52

NATHAN L. MINTZ, Primary Examiner 

